Sonam Wangchuk starts hunger strike demanding Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation

Prominent climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has escalated the national discourse surrounding competitive examination scandals by launching an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Wangchuk's fast aims to throw heavy weight behind the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) ongoing demonstrations, which directly demand the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the widespread paper leak allegations and irregularities in the NEET-UG exams. The high-profile demonstration drew hundreds of affected students, agitated youth, civil society activists, and prominent farmer leaders to the national capital.

The sit-in protest, which began with a solemn two-minute silence for victims of exam-related stress, was preceded by a symbolic visit to Rajghat, where Wangchuk and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. However, the movement quickly faced logistical friction as Dipke alleged on social media that multiple farmer leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab were placed under preemptive house arrest by law enforcement to prevent them from arriving at the site. The CJP has been holding its ground at Jantar Mantar since June 20 under its nationwide "Pradhan Go Back" campaign, highlighting structural breakdowns in India's testing mechanisms.

The core demands of the joint agitation focus heavily on student welfare, deep institutional accountability, and systemic transparency. CJP leaders have lambasted the Union Education Minister for failing to take definitive moral and administrative responsibility for the structural leakages within the National Testing Agency (NTA). Beyond the resignation demand, the organizers have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sanction a compensation package of ₹1 crore each for the families of vulnerable students who tragically died by suicide due to the immense mental trauma caused by the prolonged exam uncertainty.